Waistless underwear alternative secret pants shield

ABSTRACT

A women&#39;s waistless and seamless clothing adherable underwear includes an oval pad made of a soft absorbent material, wherein the pad has double sided strips of adhesive tape with removable peel-off cover strips to attach to the inside crotch area of low slung clothing pants, such as tight pants, leotards or dungaree jeans facing upward to the skin and crotch of the wearer. The material is preferably a soft, non-woven, absorbent material. The underwear is particularly suited for women who wear tight pants, or low waist hip hugger pants, which widely reveal waist bands and seams of panty underwear, or expose underwear waist bands. The underwear is minimally intrusive and is attractive for women who like to wear jeans without underwear but who fear bacterial infection or exposure to clothing dyes or irritating stitching.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to disposable waistless andseamless underwear for women.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Conventional women's panty underwear with waistbands and seamsaround the leg openings is unsuitable for women who wear tight pants, orlow waist pants (such as “hip huggers”), which openly reveal waist bandsand seams of panty underwear, or expose underwear waist bands.

[0003] Moreover, for women who like to wear jeans without underwearthere is a natural fear of bacterial infection or exposure of sensitivebody tissues to clothing dyes or irritating stitching.

[0004] Among related prior art patents are those which fall into fourcategories for which common distinguishing arguments can be composed.The categories are special garments or undergarments, absorbentmaterials for pads, clothing adhered pads, and maternity wear.

[0005] Clothing Adhered Pads:

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,457 of the Applicant Christine Martz hereindescribes small clothing adherable perfume patches which attach to theinside of clothing, such as a blouse, with a skin facing side rubbingintermittently against the skin, to mute the smell of the perfumeemitted by exposure to body oil in the skin of the wearer.

[0007] However, neither Martz '457 nor Williams, in U.S. Pat. No.5,729,835, relate to a pants shield designed to permit the user tocomfortably wear jeans, pants or shorts or the like without anundergarment and also without any external indication that such a shieldis being used. Martz '457 relates to small garment pads used to emit afragrance; their general physical shape and construction are differentfrom the instant invention. Williams '835 relates to a panty liner ofgenerally oblong configuration specifically for use with thongunderwear. The multilayer construction designed for maximum absorptionand a “penetration barrier” would be far too bulky for the objectives ofthe present invention.

[0008] Maternity Wear:

[0009] Blair, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,730 describes an expansion panelfor temporarily providing a larger waist and frontal area so that a usercan wear the jeans during pregnancy. The panel is easily removable whenit is no longer needed. Clearly this prior art is irrelevant to thepresent invention.

[0010] Absorbent Materials for pads:

[0011] Palumbo et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,250 B1 relates to anabsorbent pad with defined fluid receiving and fluid retention regions.It is designed primarily for use in treating female incontinence.

[0012] Rock et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,698 describes a compositeundergarment fabric of multilayer construction using a skin contactlayer of hydrophilic material with superabsorbent and high moisturetransmission layers attached.

[0013] Mende, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,632 relates to a nonwoven fabricand manufacturing method. It is a soft bulky absorbent and permeablematerial.

[0014] Tanner et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,961 has an absorbentarticle having exceptional expansion properties when wetted.

[0015] None of the above materials are required in the construction ofthe present invention. High moisture absorption is not a keyrequirement. Comfort and low thickness so as to preclude edge detectionfrom external viewing of the outer garment are principal requirementswhich cannot be supported by the materials described in this group ofpatents.

[0016] Special Garments or Undergarments:

[0017] Glaug, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,120 B1 describes a cloth-like,breathable disposable brief with refastening means. It is an adultgarment for controlling incontinence.

[0018] Davis, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,535 discloses a genital coveringgarment that is a minimum temporary covering generally useful forsurgical procedures or examinations not requiring visual or tactileaccess to these regions.

[0019] Marbach, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,208 relates to a minimal coveringfor the lower part of the anatomy consisting of a spring supported patchthat fits between the user's legs and engages the pubic bone and thesacrum. The intended use is as a bathing brief.

[0020] Crawford, II, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,482 describes a selfsupporting sideless and waistless tanning brief. This is a malleablewire frame with a cloth covering extending to the rear with a springmember which fits between the buttocks of the wearer.

[0021] Vargason, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,922 discloses a removableundergarment that is designed for quick wearing. A variety of attachmentpatches are used to attach the undergarment around the user in acomfortable fashion.

[0022] Lampman, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,323 describes a disposableundergarment held by a partially encircling belt, wherein theundergarment covers the pubic area and central buttocks of the user. Itcan be used by women while trying on bathing suits or the like instores.

[0023] The inventions in this group relate to garments or undergarments.None disclose a clothing attached secret shield that can be used as asubstitute to using an undergarment.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0024] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provideunderwear for women which is suitable for wearing with low slung hiphugging pants and the like.

[0025] It is also an object of the present invention to providewaistless and seamless underwear for garments which utilizes a sanitaryabsorbent material and which prevents irritation or exposure to bacteriaand other pathogens.

[0026] Other objects which become apparent from the followingdescription of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0027] In keeping with these objects and others which may becomeapparent, the present invention is a pants shield that is invisible fromthe exterior and which can be used with any form-fitting attire withoutthe use of underpants or any undergarment.

[0028] Since the pants shield is adherable only to the upper crotchfacing area of an outer pants garment, it is unencumbered by auxiliarysupports, such as annoying skin adhering adhesives or other bodysupports, such as waistbands, belts, or buttocks holding supports.

[0029] Some current fashions for young women are such that they rendernormal underpants or even thongs undesirable, but the alternative of notwearing underwear has its own disadvantages.

[0030] Constructed of a thin absorbent pad, the pants shield of thepresent invention is adhesively bonded temporarily during use to thecrotch area of the outer garment. It can be used in jeans, exercisepants, leotards, shorts, or any normal pants. This permits active use ofthe garment without underpants which introduce seams and hems that showthrough as panty lines. This secret pants shield is more comfortablethan a thong and more fashionable because low cut pants often reveal thetop band of the thong when bending or stretching. Because of the softshield surface in contact with vaginal area, it prevents infections thatcan arise from abrasion or irritation caused by rubbing against clothingmaterials when underpants are not worn. The shield of this inventionprovides a clean bacteria-free barrier from garment fabric which mayalso contain irritating dyes. It absorbs small amounts of moisture andalso provides extra protection for garments during menstruation periodswithout the need for an undergarment.

[0031] Therefore this secret pants shield permits sanitary wear of pantswithout underwear providing the ultimate fashion compatibility with anypants attire. Comfort is provided by the soft contact material. Since itis securely bonded with a temporary adhesive, it can be used for activepursuits. The disposable nature and small compact size makes itconvenient to change a shield whenever it gets messy. The secret pantsshields are available in different sizes such as small, medium, andlarge. They are also available in colors so as not to contrast with thecolor of pants which may be shear or slightly transparent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention can best be understood in connection withthe accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limitedto the precise embodiments shown in drawings, in which:

[0033]FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a reclining woman wearingform-fitting jeans;

[0034]FIG. 2 is a top view of a secret pants shield of this invention;

[0035]FIG. 3 is an perspective exploded view of the pants shield of FIG.2, and

[0036]FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of a different embodiment ofa pants shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037]FIG. 1 shows a detail of a reclining woman 1 wearing an ensemblewhich derives maximum benefit from the secret pants shield of thisinvention. Several features of the style conspire to make the use ofunderwear undesirable. Jeans 2 are tight and form-fitting with lowhip-hugging waist band 5. The short top 4 leaves a bare abdominalmidriff 3. This exposed central area is antithetical to underwearwaistbands. The site of the secret pants shield of this invention iscrotch area 6 which is not disturbed by any indication of the shieldwithin.

[0038]FIG. 2 shows pants shield pad 10 with circumferentially extendingbonded edge 11 and bottom adhesive areas 12. While FIG. 2 shows twobottom adhesive areas, one or more adhesive areas can be employed toadhere pants shield pad 10 to an inside crotch facing portion of a pantsgarment.

[0039] The exploded view of FIG. 3 reveals the construction with toplayer 15, adhesive ring 11 around bottom layer 16, adhesive areas 12 andrelease liners 12 a which cover adhesive patches 12 until use. The toplayer 15 is a soft absorbent paper material such as soft paper towel, orof a synthetic plastic fabric material. The bottom layer 16 can beidentical material. Adhesive ring 11 bonds layers 15 and 16 permanently.Adhesive 12 is a temporary adhesive analogous to that used on femininehygiene panty liner pads. An alternate construction of a single layerequivalent to the two layers of soft paper towel can also be used.Moreover, one or more adhesive layers 12 can be employed to attach pantsshield pad 20 to a crotch facing area of pants garment.

[0040] A prototype for one embodiment for a secret pants shield has beenconstructed and tested successfully. Layers 15 and 16 were cut out ofKLEENEX® VIVA® paper towel, and the adhesive areas 12 were double widthlengths of ¾″ wide SCOTCH® Poster Tape from 3M Company.

[0041]FIG. 4 shows the construction of alternate embodiment 20 of thesecret panty shield of this invention. It includes at least threesurface bonded layers with adhesive patches on the bottom layer. Toplayer 21 is a thin permeable nonwoven fabric material, such as of apaper or a synthetic plastic material. Middle layer 22 is a thinabsorbent non-woven material, and bottom layer 23 is a thin impermeablelayer, such as of paper or of a synthetic plastic. Adhesive patches 12with release liners 12 a complete shield 20. The construction andmaterials of the various layers are similar to those of a light weightbed pad.

[0042] The bottom layers 16 or 23 adjacent to the transparent temporaryadhesive patches 12 can be selected in a variety of colors to minimizecontrast with pants material.

[0043] Total thickness of the secret pants shield must be kept to aminimum to prevent a visible outline from showing through. For context,it is well to know that panty seams range from a thickness of about0.08″ (2 mm) to about 0.12″ (3 mm) and are quite visible under tightpants. A LIGHTDAYS™ feminine hygiene pad from KOTEX® is 0.075″ (1.9 mm).The thickness of the preferred embodiment of secret pants shield as inFIG. 3 (with two layers) is about 0.030″ (0.76 mm). The thickness of thesecond embodiment as in FIG. 4 (with three layers) is about 0.025″ (0.64mm). The secret pants shield of this invention is therefore preferablyless than 1 mm thick, which is not visible externally.

[0044] In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictionsare used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessarylimitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrationsdepicted, beyond what is shown in the prior art, since the terms andillustrations are exemplary only, and are not meant to limit the scopeof the present invention.

[0045] It is further known that other modifications may be made to thepresent invention, without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A disposable waistless and seamless clothing attached secretpants shield that can be used as a substitute to using an undergarment,which is suitable for wearing with low slung hip hugging pants and thelike, comprising: a pants shield pad having a first layer of a crotchfacing sanitary absorbent material preventing irritation and exposure tobacteria and other pathogens; said pants shield pad being adhesivelybonded temporarily during use to a crotch area of an outer pantsgarment; said pants shield pad being unemcumbered by at least one of askin adhering adhesive and a body support.
 2. The disposable waistlessand seamless clothing attached secret pants shield as in claim 1 whereinsaid pants shield pad includes a circumferentially extending bonded edgeadhesive ring bonding a bottom layer to a top layer.
 3. The disposablewaistless and seamless clothing adherable secret pants shield as inclaim 2 wherein said top layer and said bottom layer are of a softabsorbent paper material.
 4. The disposable waistless and seamlessclothing adherable secret pants shield as in claim 2 wherein said bottomlayer includes a clothing adherable temporary adhesive.
 5. Thedisposable waistless and seamless clothing adherable secret pants shieldas in claim 1 wherein said pants shield pad includes at least threesurface bonded layers with at least one adhesive patch on a bottom layerthereof, said pants shield pad including: a. top layer of permeablenonwoven fabric, b. a middle layer of absorbent non-woven layer, c. abottom layer of an impermeable layer, said bottom layer having at leastone adhesive patch with a release liner.
 6. The disposable waistless andseamless clothing adherable secret pants shield as in claim 5 whereinsaid top layer and said bottom layer are of a soft absorbent plasticmaterial.
 7. The disposable waistless and seamless clothing adherablesecret pants shield as in claim 5 wherein said top layer and said bottomlayer are of a soft absorbent paper material.
 8. The disposablewaistless and seamless clothing adherable secret pants shield as inclaim 5 wherein said bottom layer includes a clothing adherabletemporary adhesive.
 9. The disposable waistless and seamless clothingadherable secret pants shield as in claim 2 wherein the thickness ofsaid secret pants shield is about 0.030 inches (0.76 mm).
 10. Thedisposable waistless and seamless clothing adherable secret pants shieldas in claim 5 wherein the thickness of said secret pants shield is about0.025 inches (0.64 mm).
 11. The disposable waistless and seamlessclothing adherable secret pants shield as in claim 1 wherein said secretpants shield is less than 1 mm thick.
 12. A women's waistless andseamless clothing adherable underwear comprising an oval pad made of asoft absorbent material, wherein the pad has double sided strips ofadhesive tape with removable peel-off cover strips, said adhesive tapeattaching said oval pad the inside crotch area of a pants garment havingan inside upper end facing upward to the skin and crotch of the wearer,said pants shield pad being unemcumbered by at least one of a skinadhering adhesive and a body support.
 13. The disposable waistless andseamless clothing attached secret pants shield as in claim 1 whereinsaid pants shield pad bears a color matching a color of said outer pantsgarment.
 14. The disposable waistless and seamless clothing attachedsecret pants shield as in claim 12 wherein said pants shield pad bears acolor matching a color of said outer pants garment.